Hardhats, safety helmets and protective helmets are common articles that are worn at construction sites. Furthermore, hardhats and protective helmets have a pocket slot so that accessories can be attached to the hardhats easily.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,294 to Henry discloses a hard hat mounted flashlight holder for use with the conventional hardhat to releasably receive a flashlight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,989 to Bourgeois discloses a pair of strap retainers being mounted on opposite sides of a safety helmet for securing safety goggles in a storage position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,904,147 to Lenz discloses a hard hat mount assembly for mounting a speaker device on the hardhat.
In the prior art, recognition for individuals was usually accomplished by placing paper or plastic stickers with a backing of adhesive on the hard hat or protective helmet. The stickers are very inexpensive and do not necessarily show the appreciation or recognition for the user of the hard hat or protective helmet. Additionally, the stickers can be easily damaged and do not provide a lasting and a professional appearance to recognize the performance of the user. Furthermore, the stickers cannot be removed or updated without replacing the hard hat or protective helmet.
Alternatively, many companies use high quality awards such as label pins to recognize employees for superior performance, milestone time periods of service, milestone time periods of safe work etc. Particularly in industrial and construction applications, it is difficult to provide employees with recognition awards that they can wear daily. Metal awards can be unsafe if worn in the workplace and easily damaged or destroyed by conditions in the workplace. ANSI standards to not allow attachment pins or other metal items to be placed on hard hats and protective helmets. Metal items worn on the head invite electrical shock hazards. Furthermore, the prior art does not provide for easily removable or replaceable modular safety or warning devices for protective helmets.